Noida DM, who defended IAS officer Durga, transferred

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday transferred Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida) District Magistrate Ravikant Singh, who had given a clean chit to IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, whose suspension in July had created a furore across the country.

DM, Unnao, Hiralal Gupta will be Noida`s new District Magistrate.
In his report to the UP government, Singh had supported Nagpal and said that the wall was demolished by villagers themselves and no JCB machine was put in operation to demolish it.

Though no official reason has been given for Singh`s transfer, it comes after villagers at Sorkha village in Sector 115 in Noida yesterday protested against a demolition drive in the area and pelted stones and set ablaze a police vehicle.

Singh had yesterday reached the site and pacified the mob.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party leaders had sought an action against Singh for claiming in the report that the 2009-batch officer did not demolish any religious building wall.

Nagpal was suspended on July 27, ostensibly over the razing the wall of a mosque in Gautam Budh Nagar, an action the state government said could have triggered communal tensions. She was issued a chargesheet on August 04.

Opposition parties and others alleged that she was targeted for clamping down on the powerful sand mafia in the state.
Coming out in support of Nagpal, Congress president and the chairperson of National Advisory Council (NAC) Sonia Gandhi had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that she should not be "unfairly treated".